Burning Buildings
by glitzeybee
Summary: Clintasha One-shot. Clint and Natasha are on a mission, when everything turns to flames. Will they make it out alive? And when did Clint get so... Corny? Rated T for mild swearing and violence.


Disclaimer: Yeah... I do not own the Avengers. At all. Not even a little bit.

All it took was an unexpected move from the target. That's all it took. A lit match, dropped on to vodka-soaked carpet. That's all it took to ignite the whole building. And that's where Natasha and Clint where, running down an ignited hallway, flames licking their heels, smoke clouding their vision and lungs.

"Nat, this place is about to collapse!" Clint's voice crackled through the comms unit.  
"Yeah, thanks for that ground-breaking insight!" she spluttered back.

They heard an ear-splitting crack, and looked up to see the ceiling splitting, the roof about to cave in and bury them under feet of flaming wood. Clint looked around, searching for an exit before they were buried alive. He spotted a window to his right, and without a second thought, picked up a half-charred chair and threw it, shattering the glass. The crack in the ceiling widened, and Clint knew it was now or never.

He looked to Natasha. She had spotted the crack too, and looked back at Clint. Her green eyes were wide, and for the first time ever, Clint saw traces of fear swimming in them. She pressed her lips together, and he couldn't tell if her eyes were watering from the smoke or if she was crying. He was confused for half a millisecond but then he realised: She didn't think they were going to make it out of this.

An explosion to his right brought him back to reality, as a boiler blew up. Instinct kicking in, he grabbed Natasha's hand, and jumped from the second-story window. And suddenly they were falling, cold air hitting their faces, as the whole building collapsed into a mass of flaming wood, burying the targets. For a split second, their eyes met, conveying any last goodbyes they had. But then they hit the ground.

Clint groaned as he made impact, hitting the ground and rolling for a second or two, dust flying, blood spreading. But he was alive. No matter how much he hurt, he was alive. A string of Russian curses spluttered from beside let him know that Natasha was also still alive. A wave of relief washed over him, and gathering up the last of his strength, ignoring the immense pain in his ribs, he reached over and clasped his hand around Natasha's, giving her hand a small squeeze. She squeezed back, and that was the last thing he felt before the world went black.

Clint woke up in hospital. "What's going on?" he said groggily, looking around to see Tony, Bruce and Steve sitting beside his bed. "Where's Natasha, is she okay? Oh, she's totally gonna kill me! You better not let her see any doctors, otherwise she'll end up killing them as well and-" He stopped mid-sentence, hearing familiar but heart-breaking screams coming from the room next door. "Shit." he muttered, getting out of bed and wincing as he put weight on his right leg. He hobbled past the partition, and looked around for Natasha. He saw her, surrounded by doctors, red curls flying and screaming bloody murder. Pushing past the doctors, he sat down in the chair next to her bed, and started stroking her hair, muttering "It's okay, Tasha, it's okay, I'm here. It's me, Clint. Look at me, look at me, I'm here. You're safe, no one's gonna hurt you, I promise." Over and over until she calmed down. He looked at her. The last time he'd seen those eyes, they were full of tears and pain and unspoken goodbyes. They were still full of pain, and swimming with tears, but there was something else. Something he couldn't quite place.

Then he realised what he was thinking and mentally slapped himself for being so corny.

"Y'know, I didn't think we were gonna make it. But we did. And now I owe you my life. Again." She smirked up at him.  
"Don't go getting all sentimental on me, Romanoff."  
"Wouldn't dream of it, Barton."

They smiled at each other for a minute, before Natasha sighed and said, "I love you, stupid face. Don't forget that."

He squeezed her hand.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Romanoff. "

A/N: So this is just a little something I did, because I've got writers block for Avengers Academy. But I promise I will update soon! I'm sorry if it sucks, or if it's too corny or too sad or whatever. Reviews are much appreciated!


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